Sefer

2007·2.2 MB·English

by  The Sefer staff

SEFER
2007
Acknowledgements
The staff of the Sefer would like to express
their gratitude for the help, sponsorship, and
assistance of the following people and organi-
zations:
The English Department, especially:
Dr. Nancy Barendse
Dr. Scott Yarbrough
and
Sigma Tau Delta and
The Literary Society
Cover painting by Nicholette Indovino
Sefer
2007
According to theAnalytical Concordance to the Bible, the
word Sefer is taken from the Hebrew ahd means
"work ofwriting" or "book."
The SEFER is written, edited, and produced by students of
Charleston SouthernUniversity. The views expressed
within do notnecessarily express the views ofCharleston
Southern University's Administration, Faculty, Staff, or
general studentbody.
Table of Contents
Driving in a Charleston Downpour Ashley Glenn 3
Swaying Dreams AndrewAinsworth 4
JustTempered Guitar Thomas Banks 6
Cross Over Danielle Crowe 7
Tracking Tabatha Blevins 8
Once Upon a Birthday Stephanie Brigman 11
Holdthe Sugar Ashley Glenn 19
ATrip onthe Magic Horse Stefan Rogenmoser 20
Those Blue Eyes Elaine Fort 21
The Lake Danielle Crowe 22
Two Buffets Stefan Rogenmoser 23
PfistiZastavka...Domu, or
Portraits ofa Global Nomad Ryan Warren 27
ForYourEntertainment Codie Poll 29
Trusting Portland Tabatha Blevins 30
The Hamlet Jason Fry 32
Gravity AndrewAinsworth 34
AGlimpse Lauren Robertson 36
Last Sight Danielle Crowe 37
Nothingbutthe Blood Ashley Glenn 38
Two RoadTrips, Separatedby
Mileage and Innocence Jason Fry 48
Vomit (Joshua 1:9) Kanisha Pitt 49
Lost Snapshots Tabatha Blevins 50
What's Left attheTable Ashley Glenn 52
The Stature ofa Statue Lauren Robertson 53
The Storm atthe Cathedral Concert Lauren Robertson 53
2
Driving in a Charleston Downpour
The road glowsredasitrainstonight,
aricochetoflightsflashing, sendingcloudsofwater
splashingtowardwindshields.
As rain falls faster, carscreep through the streets,
a flood ofmotoristssweepingforward,
smallwavesbouncingoffeachtire.
Eveningslikethis areperfectforlookingback
tonightsdrivingawayfromyou,
my hand feelingsmooth againstthewheel
sameasitfeltagainstyourfingers,
tearsslidingdownmy cheeks
likerainon thewindows.
Bread sings itdon'tmatterto me
softlyon the radio, and
Isingalongpathetically,
stumblingto thewordsIknow,
mumblingtomyselffeel that need tobefree.
Ifeel theneed tochange laneswhile
mashing thegas pedal tothefloor, but
everylanegreetsmewith glaring
sparksremindingme todrivewithcaution.
AsHfey (jCenn
3
Swaying Dreams
I runouttotheold sturdyoakatthetop ofthehill.
Descendingfromitsboughs likeon a ruggedvine,
Hangsmy tire swing, swayingin thebreeze.
Itjustfloatsthere
Above theradialseaoffallenacorns.
Ablack rubbershell—
That'sallitreallyisatfirst,
Butwitha squintofmyeyes,
Itbecomesa magicvessel
Whichcancarry metootherworlds.
Myfatherliftsmeupon top,
Withhis stronggentlehands,
And I'mcradled intidalsuspension
Bybalmyzephyrsebbingandflowing
AsIdreamupbearingsformyjourney.
"Daddy, pushaway!" Iyell.
Andwitha launching push,
My fathersetsmeonmycourse.
I turnmyhead andwavefarewell,
Ashis fading figurebecomes distant
Like thegrassbeneathmyfeet.
I'msoaringhighnow.
"Gotire, go!" Ishout.
I canvisitanywhereonacraftsuch as this.
I candanceupon theluridringsofSaturn
Orevenventuredeepintoenchanted woods
Offaroffforgotten fairy lands.
Myvagabond mindismy captain,
And thetireismy ship tosteer,
Onlyheld fasttotherope,
Whichkeepsmeafloat,
Myonly anchor toreality.
Just as soonasIstepfootontosomeprehistoricshore,
4
Iamsuddenly yanked back toEarth.
"Dinner's ready, Andy, comein,"mymother's voicesays.
Atthat, Idismountmy glorious transport
And gobackinsidewithmymind staringoff.
Now onlysplintersofweatherwornrope
Mark my perilous voyagesofimagination.
jAndrewJLinswortH
5
Just Tempered Guitar
There'safairlyprevalentliegoing around
thatmusicismadeof12 tones.
Wheredoesharmonycomefrom?
AsIstepoutintothemorning
withitsdewfreshand vibrant
inashockingairblazingwith
themightilyawakened sun,
withwhatcanIsingasong?
Iplaymyguitar,but
"How soonunaccountable Ibecametired and sick,"
goodbutnotgood enough,
expediencyinplaceofbeauty.
"Seen from thehighestpointofview,
whoshallsaytheyareworthlooking atorthinkingofatall?"
Iwanttoarpeggiatelikea chirpingbird
or, iftherewerea windblowing,
resonatingamyriad trees, and
—
eachfundamental'sharmonicseries
that'swhatIwanttosoundlike.
Knowingthatthere'smoretomusicthanthechromaticscale
issomewhatlike, ofcoursenotequal to,
libertyinChristJesusasopposed to
bondagein thelaw.
Thomas (Ban^s
6
Cross Over
Thisistruth. It'sthefirst
TimeInoticedeathcreepinguphisbody.
Hishands crossed in thatfamiliarfashion
And I knew that'showtheywould remain.
Control shook fromhisbody, lost
Through tremorsinhishands. Fingersblanched.
Colorreplacedby corpsewhite.
Hisstern facewithbold eyesstaringintomine
Maintained a lookoffirmnessand control. But, myattention
Isfixated onthecontinual shakinghands.
How longwillittakedeath tocreepuphisfingers
and seizecontrol?School. Church.
Aimlessconversations. Timespentignoringthetruth.
(Danietfe Crowe
i
Tracking
I liked riding trains.
Especially theones atTweetsieRailroad
Wherebandits try torobthetrainand
Cowboys saveus passengers ina
Daringshootoutofsmokyblanks
Thatmakeyoujumplike titaniumsalutes
On theFourthofJuly.
Wewererescuedeveryyear
AtTweetsie. Ikeptmyeyeout
Forthecutecowboy, collegeboyprobably,
Whodidn'tmind swaggeringover
Togrininpictures aftersavingme.
Oneyearwewenttothe KnoxvilleZooinstead.
Theyhaveabigtrainwithalongbridgeoveraravine.
Daddyhelped meintothecarand turned on thevideocamera,
Theold kind, withtheVHStapeontheside,
Thatyouhavetosupportwithyourshoulder
Tokeep theimagesteady.
Hewanted tocapture thecagedhabitats whizzing past.
Nearingthebridgewebegan
Rattling around insideourboxcarlike
A
pairofdiceinashootercup.
The wheelsofoneofthemiddlecars
Jumped thelineoftrack,
Derailingitsunsuspectingpassengers.
Behindus, ahandfulofcarsunbuckled,
Rollingback tothesafetyofthestation,
Whilewecontinued tobounceoffthe tracks.
My daddy spentthreeyearsona freeride toMIT,
And 25 ridingitoutatKMART.
Henow shakesiceina glassand fills itwithvodka.
Poppingin a tapeofmylife
8